Teasel

Introduction

The Teasel is a traditional Norfolk Broads hire yacht. She plays an important role in Coot Club. 

Description

Ransome describes Teasel as a typical four berth hire yacht, similar to hundreds of others that would have graced the Norfolk Broads in the early 1930s. Broads yachts had a number of distinctive features to help them cope with narrow winding rivers and the shallow waters of the Broads themselves.

These included broad, shallow hulls with heavy but not particularly deep keels; a yacht like Teasel would probably have a draft of around 2' 6", far less than the traditional deep hull of a sea-going yacht of equivalent length. The hull itself would be relatively lightly built, as Teasel would not have had to cope with high seas. Because Teasel had to get under low bridges, such as that at Potter Heigham, her mast was hinged as close as possible to her deck. In consequence, the cabin top had to be very low in order to allow the mast to lie flat. Broads yacht cabins were, therefore, typically fitted with some means to raise them when moored, thus allowing sufficient headroom inside for adults to sit and crouch and children to stand. Living space aboard such yachts was increased by an awning, which could be fitted over the cabin and cockpit to create an extra "room". Most yachts had their galley areas in the cockpit; in the 1930s these would have consisted of one or more primus stoves.

Because Broads river sailing often required a lot of very short tacks into the wind, yachts like the Teasel had to be very manouverable. Her hull shape helped with this. So did her self-tacking jib which, as the name implies, re-set itself when the helmsman tacked the yacht. This innovation meant that Teasel could be tacked single-handed.

Internally, Teasel had four berths in two cabins. Ransome tells us that she was equipped with electric light, which was probably unusual for the time. The lights were battery powered. However, because Teasel did not have an engine, there was no means of recharging the battery except by returning it to a friendly boatyard. In lieu of an engine, Teasel was equipped with a single quant pole.

Ownership

Ransome only tells us that Teasel is a hire yacht based at Wroxham. In Coot Club she seems to be on semi-permanent hire to Mrs Barrable and her brother Richard.

Teasel appears in

Coot Club.

Factual Inspiration

As described above, Teasel was typical of the many hire yachts plying the Broads in the 1920s and '30s. Ransome's first experience of the Broads had come on fishing trips when he was young. By the early 1930s, he was visiting fairly regularly with his wife Evgenia and friends, at which time he favoured the Fairway class of yachts, hired out by Jack Powles of Wroxham. The Fairways had many of the standard design features of Broads yachts and Ransome would have used the experience of living aboard and sailing them when writing Coot Club. However, the Fairways themselves were only 24' long, with three berths. It is, therefore, likely that Teasel was somewhat larger, probably around 28' in length.  

What Happened to the "Real" Teasel?

Time was not kind to most Broads hire yachts. The growth in motor cruisers, such as the Margoletta, which was already beginning in the 1930s, eventually led to a huge reduction in demand for sailing yachts. Worse, many of the hire fleets suffered from the Second World War; not only did they lose serveral years revenue, but many of them were forced to moor their yachts in the Broads as anti-invasion obstacles (against the threat of invading seaplanes). After several years of non-use and exposure to winter weather, many were simply beyond economic repair by 1944.

As with most of their peers, the Fairways were gradually phased out of service by Powles to make way for motor cruisers. At least one still exists in private ownership. Other yacts of that vintage can also be seen in private ownership on the Broads.

However, One 1930s hire fleet has survived into the 21st Century. This is Percy Hunter's fleet, built on Womack Water between 1931 and 1947. Now owned and operated by the Norfolk Heritage Fleet Trust, their Lullaby, Wood and Hustler class yachts are all available for hire; with the exception of their primus stoves being replaced by gas, they are essentially unchanged from when they were built. They provide an excellent opportunity to experience traditional Broads sailing, exactly as described by Ransome in Coot Club.

Lullaby appeared as Teasel in the BBC's 1980s adaptation of Coot Club.   

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